Women big winners in elections for seats in the U.S. Congress

WASHINGTON – Tuesday’s elections produced historic gains for women in Congress, in both the House and the Senate.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is likely to become the nation’s first female Speaker of the House as the Democrats gained more than the 15 seats they needed to take the majority, and the number of women in the House and the Senate will rise to record highs.

“When I hear President Bush reach out to Nancy Pelosi, I think that is the ultimate achievement of last night’s victory,” said Ellen Malcolm, founder and president of EMILY’s List, a political action committee committed to recruiting and contributing money to pro-abortion rights women candidates.

The number of female senators will increase to 16, with Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., joining the ranks. Outstanding races in the House make it hard to predict exact numbers, but analysts predict a net gain of two or three women.

“It’s an issue of fairness,” said Barbara Palmer, assistant professor and affiliate faculty with the Women and Politics Institute at American University. “The fact is that women make up 50 percent of the population, but we’re not even close to that when it comes to our representation in Congress.”

But Maine has long been an example of female leadership.

The late Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was the first woman to serve in both the House and the Senate, as well as the first woman elected to the Senate without first having been elected or appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Republican’s 24 years of Senate service is still a record for a woman.

Today, Maine is (along with California) one of two states whose senators are both women. In the 109th Congress, Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins both hold chairmanships, the only time two women members from the same state have chaired Senate committees.

“The increased number of women serving in both the House and the Senate as well as succeeding in national politics is clearly a sign of progress, and I believe we will continue to see more of it in the future,” Snowe said. “The entire nation benefits when intelligent, dedicated women choose to serve their country as public servants.”

Malcolm also praised the women elected Tuesday as governors. “They clearly have shown that women know how to find consensus, know how to be tough when it’s necessary, but know how to make government work,” she said.

Palmer pointed to research that shows how women change the agenda. For example, in the early 1990s when there was a large influx of women into Congress, they were able to get former President Bush to sign the Family and Medical Leave Act as well as provide more money for breast cancer research, she said.

“Women don’t vote differently than their male counterparts,” she said. “But different things get talked about.”

There are 86 countries in the world that have more female representation in their parliaments than the United States, Palmer said. But she remains optimistic.

“There is clearly a role model effect here,” she said. “Nancy Pelosi becoming speaker will have a huge impact. That visual is really important.”